I'm Dating the Avatar
by WrenLoK
Summary: A Korrasami fic. Varrick throws a party for his and Zhu Li's first anniversary, and team Avatar is in attendance. Inspired by two prompts I received: "Asami or Korra gets drunk" and "Korra and Asami have a pretty big fight and almost break up"


'Come on, Asami, it's basically my first weekend off since I _started_ the job.' Mako sighed and flopped back, stretching his arms out across the back of the carseat.

'Yeah, come on Asami,' Korra teased, and Asami threw her a sideways glance from the driver's seat.

They had just picked up Mako from work. Wu was sick with a flu so bad he had been quarantined from everyone but his nurses, giving Mako a much-needed break. Varrick was throwing a party tonight at a hotel downtown, to celebrate his and Zhu Li's first wedding anniversary. However, Asami had just received the biggest biplane customisation job since she had owned Future Industries, and she wanted to do the finishing touches tonight herself, to make sure her customer got exactly what he wanted.

'Nobody else can do it like I can. Can't you guys just go yourselves? Bolin will be there, won't he?'

Korra fidgeted in her seat, reaching over to trace the embroidery on Asami's jacket sleeve. 'Please, Asami? It won't be the same without you.' She glanced briefly at Mako in the back seat and then lowered her voice slightly, 'It's practically our anniversary too.'

The colour rose in Asami's cheeks and she smiled involuntarily. 'I'll think about it.'

'That's a yes! Mako, she's coming.' Korra leaned back to give Mako a reassuring fist-bump.

'That's not what I said,' Asami mumbled, but the other two ignored her.

'So, d'you have a date, Mako?' Korra asked.

Mako raised one eyebrow. 'Who has time to date when you work for Wu? I barely even know any girls.'

'I can't believe you still work for that guy.'

'It's good pay.' Mako's eyes narrowed and he folded his arms. 'Besides, I'm not just his bodyguard anymore. I'm managing the entire security system in the palace. It's a very important job.'

Asami turned the corner and they approached the Sato Mansion. 'Well, maybe you'll meet a girl at the party,' she said.

Mako shrugged and gave a small smile. 'Maybe.'

A loud _beep beep!_ sounded behind them and they all looked over their shoulders to see a bright green satomobile just squeezing in between the automatically closing gates of the mansion driveway.

'Uh … who is that?' said Mako.

Asami rolled her eyes. 'That would be your brother. I sold him a car last week.'

'You what?'

The green satomobile swerved all over the driveway as it caught up to Asami's vehicle. It pulled up parallel next to Korra's passenger side and they saw Bolin and Opal in the car. Bolin was driving with only one hand on the steering wheel. The other was resting across the seat back around Opal's shoulders. He was wearing a driving cap, and Korra thought for a split-second he also had a scarf around his neck, but she quickly realised it was Pabu.

'Hey guys! Who is ready to paartaaay?!'

* * *

><p>'What do I even wear?'<p>

Asami hung in the doorway of her walk-in wardrobe, wearing a lacy black bra and underwear that contrasted perfectly with her porcelain skin. Korra was lying upside-down on the unmade bed, gazing at Asami's back. Korra's reminder that it was their anniversary too had been enough to convince Asami to leave the biplane customisation to her workers tonight.

'I don't know,' Korra sighed. 'Wear whatever. Wear nothing.'

Sensing Korra's stare Asami turned around, placing her hands on either side of the doorframe and shifting her weight from one hip to the other in a provocative pose. 'You like this, huh?'

Korra felt her face grow hot as she smiled. It had been a year and she still felt embarrassment like it was a brand new crush. 'Yeah, sure.'

Her girlfriend smirked and turned back to the closet. 'Seriously, though, I don't know what to do.'

'You know I'm not the right person to ask,' Korra said with a laugh, rolling over onto her stomach and wrapping her arms around a pillow. 'I pretty much have all of one outfit.'

'I'm slowly fixing that,' Asami quipped. She sighed and flicked through several hangers. 'I want to wear the dress I wore to Varrick's wedding. It's my _you-and-me_ dress.'

Korra felt her heart happily skip a beat at Asami's words. 'So, wear it?'

'It's too formal for this kind of party, I think.'

'Can't you, um … what's the word — you know, dress it down?'

'Hmmm.' Asami took the hanger off the rack and observed the dress carefully. 'Maybe. Hang on a second.' To Korra's disappointment she shut the closet door. Korra flopped over onto her back again and stared at the ceiling until she heard the door open a few minutes later.

'There, what do you think?'

Korra sat up and looked at Asami in the dress. She had carefully removed the sheer silk sleeves that decorated her shoulders, leaving her arms bare for a more casually look, and had somehow managed to shorten the length of the dress by tucking up the fabric, revealing her legs almost halfway up her calves and leaving a subtle slit up one thigh.

'I think it'll be better for dancing this way,' Asami said, in a very matter-of-fact tone that she often used when talking about engineering. 'Do you like it?'

'You look amazing,' Korra said.

Asami raised an eyebrow. 'Then what are you still doing over there?'

Korra launched off the bed towards her girlfriend with a short blast of air and pushed Asami back into the closet. She would have knocked her over if she hadn't caught Asami around the waist. Asami laughed and flung her arms around Korra's neck as her girlfriend kissed her.

'Korra, we should be getting ready —' Asami stammered through uncontrollable giggles as Korra slid one strap off her shoulder, kissing her neck and collarbone.

'Shh, let's celebrate on our own first.'

With her hands busy, Korra kicked a foot out gently towards the door, airbending the closet shut.

* * *

><p>'You guys go ahead. I need to see my brother's so-called driving skills for myself.' Mako followed Bolin and Opal over towards their satomobile.<p>

'All right, see you there.' Asami started the engine and headed down the driveway.

'It's so nice having everyone back together again,' Korra said happily. 'And especially without any, er, tag-alongs … like Wu. I still can't believe Mako keeps working for him. But I thought Mako looked pretty good, don't you think? This should be fun tonight, I haven't seen Varrick since he came to Future Industries asking about the new airship models, and that was at least a month ago…. Hey, are you okay?'

Asami seemed oddly quiet, and she held a rigid grip on the steering wheel. 'Huh? Um … yeah, I'm fine.' She acknowledged Korra's concerned look and gave a small shrug. 'I guess I'm just a little worried about the customisation job. I really need this to go right, I haven't worked with such a major company in so long, it's like the final element I need to get Future Industries' reputation back to where it was five years ago….'

'I'm sure it'll go perfectly,' Korra assured her. 'You hire only the best people, they know what they're doing. When you get there tomorrow morning you'll be glad you took the night off with me.' She smiled and tucked a wisp of Asami's hair behind her ear.

'You're probably right,' Asami said, and sighed. 'I love my job. I just hate how it sometimes reminds me of my father….'

'I know. Don't worry, a few drinks tonight and you can put all of that behind you.'

* * *

><p>'Finally! Now the party is<em> really<em> started!' Varrick was hanging around near the door when they arrived, wearing a bright purple suit and a blue tie that matched Zhu Li's dress. He ushered team Avatar inside the building and then turned to the crowd behind him, screaming over the music, 'Hey everyone! The Avatar is here! At _my_ party!'

Korra put a hand to her face and Asami and Mako laughed. 'Ugh, here we go … how many questions about the _Avatar state_ do you think I'll get tonight?'

Asami slipped an arm around Korra's waist and whispered in her ear. 'Not as many as about your relationship, I hope.'

Korra blushed. She would never tell Asami, but she secretly found that question even more awkward to answer than Avatar ones. Conversely Asami never seem phased by it; on more than one occasion Korra had overheard her saying casually, 'Yeah, I'm dating the Avatar,' to whomever she was in conversation with, as if was the easiest and coolest thing one could say in the world, but it made Korra weak at the knees.

Bolin and Opal ran off to the dance floor immediately, leaving Mako standing awkwardly behind the Avatar and her girlfriend, hands in his pockets. Korra turned and grabbed him by the sleeve, dragging him over.

'Come on, Mako, we're here for you. Let's find you a drink. And a girl.' Korra took Asami's hand and pulled them both through the crowd towards the bar.

Several drinks later, the trio were finally joined at the table by Bolin and Opal, who were both out of breath from all their dancing.

'Great party, huh?' Bolin grinned and waved over a waiter to order some drinks.

'Yeah, it's pretty good,' Mako said.

'We should dance,' Asami said to Korra.

'We should find Mako a partner first,' Korra said.

As if on cue, Varrick appeared in front of them with an excited grin beneath his perfect moustache. 'Asami Sato! Just the lady I was looking for. Zhu Li tells me there's a call for you in the lobby.'

'Oh? Thank you, Varrick. I'll be right back.' Asami got up from her seat and disappeared into the crowd.

Varrick took the vacated seat beside Korra and signalled for another round of drinks. 'So! How's it hanging, team Avatar?'

'Great!' Opal said. 'We're having so much fun, Bolin is the greatest dancer.'

'Of course he is,' Varrick laughed. 'You're looking at the most multi-talented kid in all of Republic City! Bolin is one-of-a-kind.'

'Speaking of one-of-a-kind, Varrick,' Korra said slyly, as Opal flung her arms around Bolin's neck and kissed him, 'We're hoping you might know someone you can introduce Mako to. He needs a partner for the dance floor.'

'Is that so? Rest assured, Mako, I can get you more than that!' Varrick stood up and clapped Mako on the shoulder. 'Just follow me. I will make you the man of the hour.' He yanked Mako up off his seat; Mako grabbed his drink off the table and finished it in one gulp just before Varrick shoved him into the crowd.

'Have fun!' Bolin called after them.

'Shall we go back to dancing soon?' Opal asked, and Bolin nodded eagerly.

Korra swivelled in her seat to look over her shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of the lobby. 'Where's Asami?'

'Probably just giving a minutely-detailed list of extremely important engineering instructions to her Future Industries workers, straight from her genius brain,' Bolin said, fishing the olive out of the bottom of his glass.

'I hope it's not a problem with the biplane job. She was kind of freaking out about it.' Korra's eyes narrowed as she surveyed the crowd. 'Maybe I'll go and check on her.' She got up from her seat and wove her way through the dancers towards the brightly lit lobby. Somewhere in the middle of the floor someone grabbed her arm.

'Avatar Korra!' A young man with wavy blonde hair spun Korra around and pulled her into a tango-like position. 'I've always wanted to meet you! Would you care for a dance?'

'Er, no thanks, I'm just trying to find my girlfriend —'

'Wow, you and that Future Industries girl are still a thing?'

Korra shook him off roughly. 'Uh, yeah,' she snapped. 'We are kind of _together_, together —'

'Huh. Well, whatever floats your boat I guess!'

Korra turned around quickly, trying to get away from him as fast as possible, and ran straight into her girlfriend. 'Sorry!' Korra caught Asami's arm as she stumbled. 'I was just looking for you, was everything okay?'

'Yeah, everything's fine.' Not meeting her girlfriend's eyes, Asami grabbed Korra's hand and pulled her back towards the bar. 'Excuse me, can I have a double?'

Sitting down at the bar stools, Korra observed Asami carefully as a bartender brought her drink. Bolin and Opal had evidently returned to the dance floor. Asami took up the glass immediately and downed it in three swallows.

'Can I get another?'

'Um … Asami, I thought you were driving tonight —'

'I figured you wouldn't mind driving back?'

Korra could only blink as the bartender set down a second drink. 'Was that call about the biplane mo—?'

'Come on, let's dance.'

Asami had emptied her glass and was walking away before Korra could respond, so she had no choice but to follow. They found the rest of team Avatar dancing near the band stage. Mako was holding the hand of a girl in a pink dress and enormous high heels. Zhu Li appeared to be teaching Varrick how to do the twist, and Opal and Bolin were both moving in some undistinguishable but nevertheless enthusiastic style side-by-side, with Pabu hanging off Bolin's shoulder. Asami pulled Korra over and they started to dance. Two songs later, the girl in the pink dress squeezed Mako affectionately on the arm and disappeared. Asami let go of Korra's hand and said, 'I'm going to get another drink. You want anything?'

'Uh, no thanks….' Korra frowned as she watched Asami leave.

'Varrick!' Mako stormed over to his host. 'You told me that girl was single and now she just told me she has a boyfriend!'

Varrick raised his eyebrows. 'I thought she _was_ single! — maybe you just got burned, I am very sorry about that buddy. Want me to play matchmaker again?'

'No thanks.' Mako sighed and made his way over to Korra. 'Great night, huh?' he said sarcastically.

'Tell me about it. Asami is acting really weird.'

'What do you mean?'

'I dunno, she won't tell me who called her and now she suddenly wants to drink a whole lot. Something's up.'

Asami returned to the dance floor with some kind of blue cocktail concoction in her hand.

'Hey, Mako. Who was that girl you were dancing with?' Asami grinned and looped her arm through Korra's.

'No one,' Mako said, rolling his eyes.

Asami took a long drink from her cocktail and held it out to Korra. 'Here, taste this. It's so good.'

'That's okay,' Korra said, shaking her head. 'I think you've had enough for the both of us.'

'Relax,' Asami said, but as she did she stumbled a little and grabbed Mako's arm for support. Korra snatched the drink out of her hand before she dropped it.

'Definitely enough for the both of us,' Korra sighed. 'How many have you had?'

'Really? The one night I decide to let loose and a little and you're counting? Korra, since when do I ever do this?'

'That's exactly my point,' Korra snapped. 'You _never_ get drunk. And with good reason: you like to keep your head. What's going on with you tonight?'

'You were the one who suggested I clear my head! Mako, we're here to party, right? Come on and dance with me.' She hung onto his arm, drawing him towards the dance floor.

Mako looked over his shoulder at Korra as Asami pulled him away. 'Maybe cut her some slack, she has been working really hard lately.'

'How would _you_ know?'

'All right, I don't, but I did come here to party. Cut _me_ some slack?' He smiled weakly as Asami seized his collar and pulled him into the crowd.

Korra stood at the edge of the dance floor and watched Mako and Asami sway with the music. When the song ended Bolin and Opal came to her side, breathless once again.

Bolin spotted the half-empty drink in Korra's hand. 'Ooh, what is that? I need to get me one of those.'

'Um, it's Asami's,' Korra said blankly. She looked down at the vibrant blue liquid, and decided to take a sip. It was so sweet it made her shudder.

'Coming back to the bar, Korra?' Opal asked. 'We're going to get some food.'

'I think I'll stay here,' Korra said. 'I want to keep an eye on those two.' She nodded her head towards Asami and Mako, who had made their way right into the middle of the dance floor, and were moving fast to the beat of a jazzy swing number.

'Suit yourself! We'll try and save you some fries,' Bolin said. 'But no promises!'

When the next song ended Mako and Asami came off the dance floor.

'Done so soon?' Korra said, dumping the cocktail glass onto the tray of a passing waiter.

'I had no choice, it's game over for this one.' Korra realised that Mako had his arm around Asami's waist, keeping her balanced. She had one arm strung around his shoulder and was playing with his hair in a giggly, teasing manner.

'Mako, stop it, I'm perfectly fine,' Asami insisted, tousling the back of his hair, but Mako ignored her and gently passed her off to Korra, who put her arm around Asami and was surprised at how much weight she had to take to keep her girlfriend steady on her feet.

'I'd … take her home if I were you,' Mako said. 'Do you want me to come with you?'

'No, it's okay,' Korra said, a little disgruntled. 'Probably better if we were alone. Sorry for wrecking your night.'

'You didn't wreck it. I did have a good time.' Mako smiled. 'I guess I just need to get out a little more. I'm kind of out of practice when it comes to this whole meeting people thing … or even having fun thing. But tonight was nice. It was good to be around you guys again, we haven't hung out properly in a while.'

Korra returned the smile. 'Bolin and Opal said they were getting some food, if you hurry they might not have demolished all the fries. Say goodbye to them and Varrick for us?'

'Want me to walk you to the car?'

Korra shook her head. 'I got it. Thanks, Mako.'

Asami wrapped her arm around Korra's neck as Mako walked away. 'Korra, I don't want to go home. Can we go somewhere else? Anywhere else.'

'You can't go anywhere else,' she sighed, pushing Asami's arms away so she could walk her towards the door. 'You can't even stand up straight.'

They were almost at the door when Asami was suddenly fired-up. 'Korra, _please_,' she begged, pushing her girlfriend back towards the wall. Korra was taken aback by Asami's intensity and found herself unable to react as Asami pressed her hands against Korra's hips and kissed her jaw. 'I don't want to go home,' Asami pleaded, breathing down Korra's neck, 'Don't take me home.' It was only when she stepped in closer and slid her hand past the Avatar's hip and down against her inner thigh that Korra snapped out of it and snatched Asami's hand away.

'Whoa, whoa. Okay. It is definitely time to go home. This is _not_ happening here.' Her whole face burning, Korra grabbed Asami's arm and dragged her out the door, down the steps to the parking lot where the cool night breeze was a welcome change from the raging heat of the party.

Korra fished for the keys in Asami's clutch, buckled her girlfriend in the passenger seat and struggled to get the satomobile in reverse. Finally managing it on the third try, she pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.

* * *

><p>Unconvinced that her driving skills could get the car perfectly into the parking space in the garage, Korra stopped the satomobile near the steps to the front door. She turned off the engine and hopped out of the car, pausing for a second to take a few deep breaths and observe the lights of the city.<p>

'Korra, are you mad at me?'

She turned around to see Asami resting her arms on the back of the carseat, wavy black hair tousled and tossed over one shoulder.

'Am I mad at you? Of course I am! This is not how I wanted this night to go at all. Honestly, what is up with you? You were acting weird ever since that phone call. And you even drunk-flirted with Mako. I've never seen you like this before.' Korra shoved the car keys in her pocket. She felt like wrecking something, and it was taking all her strength not to firebend some nearby hedge into oblivion. 'I thought this was supposed to be a you and me night.'

Looking back over at Asami, it was clear her girlfriend was too far gone to respond. 'Hey, hey, don't pass out on me,' Korra said. 'I still have to get you in the house.' She waterbent a little misty spray into Asami's face to keep her conscious and lifted her out of the car.

Exhaustion hit Korra as soon as they reached the bedroom. Laying Asami down on the bed, she just barely managed to slip her girlfriend out of her dress, toss the sheets over her, and struggle out of her own dress and put pyjamas on before collapsing on the bed next to her.

* * *

><p>The sun had barely broken over the horizon when the telephone in their bedroom started ringing. Korra had other preferred means of communication, so whenever the phone rang it was always for Asami.<p>

'Asami, get the telephone,' Korra mumbled, stroking Asami's wrist which was draped over her shoulder, but her girlfriend was too deep in sleep to hear. The telephone rang out and Korra dozed off again.

The phone interrupted the silence four more times throughout the hour, and finally Korra had had enough.

_Ring ring—_

'Agh!' Korra bolted upright in bed and hurled a blast of air the telephone so hard she sent it flying; it hit the ceiling and smashed to pieces with a deafening clang. It was Asami's turn to wake up with a gasp. Korra flopped back and yanked a pillow over her own face.

'Korra! What is it with you and breaking phones?'

Angry flames shot out of Korra's hand as she tossed the pillow away, leaving it blackened with soot. 'Why wouldn't you answer it?!'

Asami's face fell. She turned over, curling in on herself and dragging the sheets up around her shoulders. 'I can't,' she whispered.

'What's that supposed to mean? I know you probably have a raging hangover, but aren't you due in at Future Industries for your biplane customer in like, an hour?'

'No,' Asami said resentfully, giving a shaky sigh. 'I think I lost the customer.'

'What?' Korra sat up straight, staring at the back of Asami's head. '_That's_ what the phone call was last night?'

Asami didn't elaborate. Korra threw back the sheets and got up, feeling the urge to destructively bend something again. 'Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you! I could've spoken to him, explained that it was my fault that you weren't at the factory—'

'Korra, not everything in life can be fixed by the Avatar!' Asami yelled.

Korra took a step back and looked at Asami, wavy locks in disarray around her face, with the sheet hugged tight around her bare white shoulders. There were tears welling in her tired eyes.

'News flash, the Avatar state doesn't exactly come in handy in a business meeting. That customer's company was so big, _everyone_ is going to hear about this ….. You don't even know what this means—'

'Well maybe I would if you told me!' Korra said. 'You can't keep stuff like this from me and then decide to get drunk and pretend it never happened! I'm supposed to be able to help you, you're supposed to be able to share stuff like this with me—'

'Well, maybe I don't want to share it.'

Korra felt her body grow cold. 'What are you saying? I thought that's what being together meant, how can I help if—'

'Stop trying to help,' Asami snapped. 'Just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean I need you to do everything!'

'I'm _not_ the Avatar!' Korra yelled. Sparks flew from her hands and a tiny tornado was building around her legs. She tossed a blast of air at the balcony door, flinging it open. 'I'm your girlfriend, Asami. Or at least I thought I was. Go into your business meeting or don't and let it go sour, I don't care. I'm out of here.' Fuming, Korra strode to the balcony and hopped over the railing, softening the leap to the ground with her airbending. She took off running, heading straight for the spirit wilds.

The wilds were cool and quiet and teeming with spirit life, a welcome relief to Korra. Deep in the centre was a great big tree that Korra like to climb, because from the top she could see the whole of Republic City, including Air Temple Island. With spirits darting around her ankles she made her way up branch by branch until she came out the other side of the canopy and looked over the tops of the leaves at the cityscape below. She scowled at her own face when she spotted the statue of herself in Avatar Korra Park. Like Korra's tree, the statue was Asami's recovery place and Korra had often found her girlfriend sitting beneath its shadow with her back against the cold marble.

Was she really just the Avatar to Asami?

Standing up on the topmost branch, Korra let off some steam by blasting shots of various bending up into the sky like fireworks. Finally she climbed partway down and found a wide branch to sit on with her back against the trunk and meditate.

Significant time passed before Korra finally withdrew herself from her meditative state and climbed down the tree. She felt much better. Not quite ready to go back to the Sato Mansion, but better. Maybe she'd take Naga down to the beach.

When she reached the ground she was surprised to find Asami sitting on a fallen log near the base of the tree. She was dressed for work so by the looks of it she had been at her meeting.

'Hey,' Asami said softly, getting up and walking over to Korra.

'Hi,' Korra said.

Asami reached her and wrapped her arms around Korra in a hug, but she second she did so she burst into tears.

'Oh — hey, hey, it's okay,' Korra said, tightening her grip around Asami's waist.

'I didn't mean any of those things I said to you,' Asami sobbed. 'I went to the meeting, but it was too late to fix it. He said if I wasn't working on it myself he didn't want anything from me, so he pulled all of his orders. I tried to convince him that I could still do it but he wouldn't have any of it. Two other companies just pulled out on me this morning. I can redesign half of this city and my name is _still _tainted by my father.'

'You'll find a way to bounce back,' Korra insisted. 'You're the smartest woman I know.'

'I can be really stupid sometimes,' Asami sighed, but Korra just shook her head and kissed her on the lips.

'I'm sorry if I've been too 'Avatar' on you lately,' Korra said, brushing a tear from Asami's cheek.

'I should be the one apologising. I can't believe I made you think I didn't want you. I want you more than anything.' Asami cupped Korra's chin in her hand and kissed her.

Korra felt her cheeks grow pink as a wave of happiness surged over her. 'Come here, I want to show you something.' She threaded her fingers through Asami's and guided her back over the giant tree. 'Follow me.' Korra hoisted herself up onto the first branch, pulling Asami up after her. They climbed to the top and sat side by side against the trunk, looking out at Republic City.

'Look,' Korra said, pointing to her statue and then at Sato Mansion. 'We're the two biggest beacons in this entire city. I kind of think we're meant to be.' She leaned her head on Asami's shoulder and squeezed her hand. Asami smiled and wiped her eyes.

'Korra?'

'Yeah?'

'Do you think there's anything in those Avatar powers of yours that could fix a major hangover?'

Korra laughed. 'I don't think so. But as your girlfriend, I might know something else that could help.'


End file.
